Dutch regulator orders Polymarket to cease unlicensed gambling amid cross-border compliance concerns

The Dutch gambling authority has mandated Polymarket to halt operations in the Netherlands over unlicensed betting activities, highlighting regulatory challenges for cross-border prediction markets and crypto taxation reforms.

The Dutch gambling regulator has ordered Adventure One QSS Inc., the operator behind the Polymarket brand, to halt offerings to customers in the Netherlands, saying the platform is running unlicensed gambling. The Kansspelautoriteit (Ksa) set a weekly penalty of €420,000 for continued activity, capped at €840,000, and has taken technical steps to block Dutch users from placing bets while allowing read-only access to the site. According to local reporting, the Ksa singled out event-based wagers tied to Dutch politics among the unlawful products. Sources: NLTimes, NewsNet5, NLTimes. - Sources: [2], [5], [3]

The regulator’s directive frames the contested services as remote gambling under Dutch law and identifies Adventure One’s Polymarket offering as the vehicle used to solicit bets from residents without a Ksa licence. The Ksa’s formal order requires the operator to stop these activities immediately or face the prescribed coercive fines, and the authority said it had not received adequate engagement from the platform before escalating to enforcement. Sources: Yogonet, ValueTheMarkets. - Sources: [6], [7]

Dutch authorities also implemented access restrictions after the order, preventing account-funded wagering by users in the Netherlands while leaving browsing functionality intact. The measure illustrates a practical enforcement tool regulators can deploy to limit market participation pending resolution of licensing disputes. Sources: NLTimes, NLTimes. - Sources: [3], [2]

Polymarket’s parent or representatives have signalled a willingness to talk with state regulators and have framed parts of the fight as a question of jurisdiction, pointing to ongoing litigation and debate in the United States about who should oversee prediction markets. Industry commentary notes that U.S. courts and federal agencies are still determining whether such platforms fall under gambling, commodities or other regulatory regimes, complicating the firm’s cross-border compliance strategy. Sources: Lead report, Cointelegraph summaries referenced in source material. - Sources: [1], [5]

The enforcement came against a backdrop of intensified fiscal scrutiny of crypto activity in the Netherlands. Lawmakers have advanced proposals to alter how digital assets are taxed, including a move toward taxing actual returns that would bring crypto more directly into a higher capital gains framework; under current practice crypto is treated within the Box 3 wealth tax system with effective rates that can reach roughly 36% on imputed returns above exemption thresholds. If fiscal reforms proceed as proposed, they could take effect in 2028 and reshape the incentives for Dutch investors in crypto-linked markets. Sources: Kryptos, Lead report. - Sources: [4], [1]

Regulatory analysts say the Dutch action fits a wider pattern of national authorities treating certain prediction-market activity as gambling or a regulated financial product, prompting operators to build stronger compliance programmes or restrict access by jurisdiction. The episode highlights the operational and legal choices facing platforms that seek scale across multiple legal systems while offering event-based markets tied to elections, policy moves and other real-world outcomes. Sources: ValueTheMarkets, Yogonet. - Sources: [7], [6]

Observers will watch for Polymarket’s formal response to the Ksa order, any legal challenges the operator pursues, and whether Dutch tax and licensing rules shift further as parliament advances changes to crypto taxation. The outcome may influence how other prediction-market operators approach European expansion and how regulators coordinate on cross-border enforcement. Sources: NLTimes, Kryptos. - Sources: [2], [4]

Source Reference Map Inspired by headline at: [1]

Sources by paragraph: - Paragraph 1: [2], [5], [3] - Paragraph 2: [6], [7] - Paragraph 3: [3], [2] - Paragraph 4: [1], [5] - Paragraph 5: [4], [1] - Paragraph 6: [7], [6] - Paragraph 7: [2], [4]

Source: Noah Wire Services